Jan Thorman, Mid-Atlantic

About Jan

Being a docent is one of the best things I've ever done. Seeing a visitor, especially a student, really connect with a work of art is a priceless experience. It has also given me the privilege of associating with a fascinating group of life-long learners who love art and work hard to engage visitors to our museum to help them find delight, wonder, and insight.

My Connection with the NDSC

My first National Docent Symposium (NDS) was in San Francisco in 2013. We had been sending the docent president to NDS for years. The president that year encouraged me to come on my own as VP of our docent organization. We had begun work on a couple of initiatives for our docent corps. From the beginning, in the bus for a pre-symposium tour, I met docents who had useful information, ideas, and contacts that gave an enormous boost to our efforts. I was thrilled to meet and learn from docents from all over North America. We came back brimming with ideas and enthusiasm, as well as new friends. Joining the NDSC in 2015 as a director has given me a chance to contribute to the continuation of the symposium and to improvement of our resources to help docents connect online. My docent experience has been that we learn best from each other. The NDSC has given me a way to expand that truth beyond docents at my own museum to those across North America.